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Cast iron pipes were the basic stock when it came to the installation of urban drinking water supplies 150 years ago. With increasing requirements from users for efficiency and simultaneously increasing chemical and mechanical loads, an innovative foundry industry responded with some sophisticated solutions.

The Devoll hydropower project in Albania: Statkraft AS has built two hydropower stations on the River Devoll, some 70 km to the South-East of the Albanian capital of Tirana: Banjë and Moglicë. The two together will have a capacity of 256 MW and an annual production of around 729 GWh.

After a little more than a year of construction time, in September 2019 the new hydropower station in Finhaut, Switzerland, was able to be put into operation. However, achieving the Finhaut microgeneration unit took ten years overall: from project planning in 2008 until the start of construction work in summer 2018.

Positive locking and flexible thrust-resistant systems have extended the range of application of ductile cast iron systems and shown that they can withstand all loads produced by internal and external forces. In the construction and during the operation of pipelines with restrained joints in tunnels and under bridges, when used with the application of trenchless installation techniques …

The main focus of the so called Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 lies in the use of local, renewable energy sources. Their most important aims are a sustainable guarantee of energy supply, consistent development of existing energy efficiency potentials, reduction of CO2 emissions and full utilisation of existing potentials of new renewable energy sources.

Extreme temperatures from -40 °C to +30 °C, challenging gradients, a very narrow time frame and transport logistics which, because of the remoteness of the site, presented some serious snags: all this was expected by cast iron pipe manufacturers Tiroler Rohre (TRM) in Mongolia …

From the afternoon of 8 August 2007 until the morning of 9 August 2007, the volume of rainfall in the Swiss valley of the River Birs reached unexpected dimensions: between 90 and 120 mm of rain fell there in just 15 hours. “Normally this represents the total average rainfall for a month …

Replacement of the 120 year old grey cast iron drinking water main (Long pipe relining) The planning, construction and operation of the 1,235 km long drinking water network (820 km of water mains and distribution pipelines plus 415 km of domestic service pipelines)...

For the 15th time already, IKT has awarded the Golden Manhole Cover, the “Oscar” of the sewer industry, to special achievements of individual employees of sewer network operators such as municipal sewers, civil engineering offices and municipal utilities.

The Chotýany-Zlukov drinking water supply pipeline  is one of the most important transport pipelines of the Southbohemian region. Previously, it crossed the River Nežárka as an above-ground pipeline, suspended from a steel bridge, but now, for various reasons, it had to be laid under the river with the construction of a culvert.

For drinking water pipelines there are descriptions e.g. in DVGW data sheet W 334 of how accumulations of air can cause considerable dynamic pressure changes as a result of the different densities of the two media.

Today, more than 130 million m³ of purest drinking water flow annually through a 1,700 km long pipeline network from Lake Constance to the Odenwald forest. The 183 members of the Zweckverband Bodensee-Wasserversorgung (towns, municipalities and other special-purpose water supply associations) supply 320 municipalities …

Framed by the idyllic backdrop of high mountain peaks, sun and snow spoiled: the Nassfeld in the Carnic Alps attracts tourists in their thousands every year. communities and investors in the region want to develop yet more tourist structures and/or extend existing ones …

At the beginning of the 1970s, in the immediate vicinity of the “Deutsches Eck”, one of the most important sewage structures in Koblenz: the 294 m long Mosel culvert …

With the presentation of the “Blue Community” certificate on 23 October 2018 Berlin has officially received the Blue Community designation. With this certificate, presented to the Berlin Senate, the City subscribes to the principles of a Blue Community, thereby committing itself to the following four principles …

Circulago is a future-oriented project to supply the town of Zug and the southern part of Baar with environment-friendly heating and cooling energy derived from the water of Lake Zug. With the so-called people’s initiative “2000 Watts for Zug” with the aim of developing the values of a 2000 Watt society …

When supply pipelines or sewage systems still in operation need to be replaced, renovated or even repaired, the engineering involved for ensuring a secure supply or disposal service in the meantime is not to be underestimated. In branched local networks supplying drinking water, the section concerned can usually be closed …

Ductile iron pipe systems have proved their worth for extinguishing water pipelines in road tunnels for decades now and in case of fire events they are extremely reliable for delivering firefighting water. After the opening of the A4 bypass in August 1996 there was a steady and enormous change …

According to its company philosophy “think global – act local”, ecological considerations are an essential part of the strategy concept of the Sindelfingen municipal utilities. One of these ecological considerations concerns the Sindelfingen waterworks: since its construction in 1977 it had started to age …

The Belchen motorway tunnel, opened in December 1970, is one of the most important sections of the North-South route through Switzerland with around 50,000 vehicles driving through it every day. The 3.2 km long, twin-tube Belchen tunnel runs through highly expansive layer of plaster (Gipskeuper) for approximately …

In July 2018, a construction project was started in Brixen im Thale in preparation for the major Zinsberg cable railway planned for next year. During the course of this construction work, the existing snowmaking pipeline is being rerouted and its pipe dimensions enlarged …

Seebachschleife is located in the municipality of Bayerisch Eisenstein in the Regen district of Lower Bavaria, Germany. As far back as 1934, the glassgrinding factory in Seebachschleife – now a listed building – was using water power as its energy source. In 1997 the hydroelectric power plant changed hands …

To the South of the Swiss Canton capital of Solothurn in the community of Biberist is the Vorder-Bleichenberg castle, which was built in the 17th century as a Summer residence for the old aristocratic and patrician family of Solothurn von Roll. In 1810 Ludwig von Roll, a direct descendant of this family …

The Austrian Federal Forestry Office (Österreichische Bundesforste AG or ÖBf) has special responsibility for the natural resources and habitats of the Republic of Austria. Sustainability is the number one principle here: only take out as much as grows back. In order to be able to supply around …

The water supply association in the district of Birkenfeld has the task of ensuring the extraction, treatment and distribution of water for its members, the local authority associations of Baumholder, Birkenfeld, Herrstein and Idar-Oberstein, to provide approx. 77,000 inhabitants with a total annual volume of 4.8 million cubic metres of water …

In the winters of the 1980’s when snowfall was low, the need grew for snow-making facilities in the Alps. The operators and planners …

In future, wastewater will flow from the municipality of Zumikon down into the wastewater treatment plant of the municipality of Küsnacht on Lake Zurich. The plan is …

Hamburg Wasser operates a drinking water pipeline network which is around 5,400 km long. Some 900 km of pipelines have a nominal size greater than DN 300. The number of shutoff fittings is correspondingly large, and …

Burst lining technique The water supply association for the city and district of Offenbach (ZWO) supplies a total of 14 towns and communities with all or part of their water requirements from six of its own waterworks. The association operates long-distance supply...

Ischgl Ischgl is booming – and has been so since the opening of the Silvretta cableway back in 1963 which, at the time, was the longest cable car system in Austria. After just four years, 100,000 winter tourists were turning up. The growth spiral of tourism rose...

Swiss Canton of Jura In the Swiss Canton of Jura, to the east of the Canton’s capital of Delémont, a merging of municipalities on 1st January 2013 joined the three villages of Vermes, Vicques and Montsevelier to become the political municipality of Val Terbi. It was...

Ductile iron pipe systems: “Root penetration in sewers” is known to be an obstacle to flow from the camera inspections regularly carried out inside piping systems. In private drains, root penetration often only becomes noticeable when blockages and backing up occur,...

Berlin, District of Falkenberg The last winters proved it: natural snow occurring later and later along with ever shorter periods of cold weather are putting new demands on technical snowmaking systems. Therefore Bergbahnen Westendorf is currently extending its...

Snowmaking equipment for Bergbahnen Westendorf The last winters proved it: natural snow occurring later and later along with ever shorter periods of cold weather are putting new demands on technical snowmaking systems. Therefore Bergbahnen Westendorf is currently...

Bypassing Biel The motorway bypass around the city of Biel has closed one of the last gaps in the Swiss national road network on the stretch between Solothurn and Neuenburg. Also the new section orbiting Biel connects the A5 motorway, the A16 Transjurane and the T6...

Replacement of a drinking water supply pipeline in the canton capital of Fribourg On one of the most important traffic corridors in the city, the Boulevard de Pérolles, between the main railway station, the city centre and the university it became necessary to replace...

Joint effort to secure cross-border drinking water supply The region of Vienna (A), Györ (HU), Bratislava (SK), Sopron (HU) and Eisenstadt (A) are developing dynami-cally socially, economically and in terms of tourism. So that, together, they could secure their water...

Again pipes with BLS® score In some parts of Berlin-Tegel Airport the fire-extinguishing water system was in need of renovation. Ductile iron pipe systems were used, installed in the utility tunnel under the circular airport building. This meant that disruptions to...